Nail contouring is now a thing

If you thought we’d reached peak contour with legs, butts and collarbones, you were wrong. Now, nail contouring is a thing.

It may sound absurd, but it’s actually the term that’s been coined for a nifty way to fake longer-looking nails.

Pro nail technician Jin Soon Choi has been using the technique since her teens and demo-d it at backstage at Vera Wang’s SS17 show.

To create the chic, elongating look, she applied a base coat, before ‘contouring’ with the application of nail lacquer in a sweep down the centre of the nail. Choi’s chosen shades of blackberry (Risque) and nude (Doux) were applied leaving space either side of the cuticles. A top coat is then used to finish the look.

The streamlined sweep of colour works in the same way as highlighting below your cheekbones to exaggerate them, witha= a shade of polish darker than your nail bed serving to elongate the look of your talons.

Any shade of polish will work for the look, but Choi uses a semi-matte base coat to keep the finished effect from looking too harsh.

Easy, right? And it’s also ideal for any mani fans who struggle to get their polish right up to the edges of the nail without it bleeding onto the skin. If you’re not such a steady painter you could even use stickers to ensure a crisp line.

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